Skyrocketing property prices in Sydney are driving people to cash in and seek cheaper houses in the tropical north of Queensland.

Houses stand by the waterfront in the suburb of Woolwich as the Sydney Harbor Bridge stands in the distance in Sydney, Australia.
Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

House prices in the harbour city have more than doubled since the global financial crisis, with the median house price now in excess of AUD1 million. As Bloombergreports, the emerging exodus is part of Australia’s latest wave of interstate migration to Queensland, where house prices are half Sydney’s and job creation is on the rise:

“People have been leaving New South Wales at a faster pace over the past couple of years and movement into the traditional destination of Queensland is picking up,” Macquarie's wealth management unit said in a note. “When the cycle turns, the acceleration occurs rapidly based on the experience of past cycles.”

The shift will likely leave Australia’s overall economy in better shape: selling high down south and buying low up north will help curb mortgage-driven debt – currently at a record 194 percent of income and a key deterrent for central bank rate hikes. Such deleveraging will potentially boost consumption that accounts for more than half of gross domestic product.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama says that diplomacy, rather than military action, is the best way to deal with the 'real threat' of North Korea, the Associated Pressreports:

Obama spoke on Thursday during a Global Citizen Forum event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, attended by some 600 businesspeople.

The former president said tolerance, diversity, pluralism and the rule of law must be fostered so that humankind can progress.

He also said caution must be used with the internet because it can spread knowledge, but also hatred.

U.S. appliance giant Whirlpool Corp (WHR) has won the backing of the U.S. International Trade Commission in its fight to “safeguard” restrictions to stop South Korean rivals Samsung Electronics (005930.KR) and LG Electronics (066570.KR) from flooding the U.S. market with cheaper washing machines. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the commission will now consider whether to impose tariffs or quotas:

The U.S. International Trade Commission voted 4-0 Thursday to approve the petition from the Benton Harbor, Mich.-based manufacturer seeking broad protection in the American market from South Korean rivals Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. The vote came under a trade law that allows U.S. companies to win such limits if they can show they suffered “serious injury” from a surge of imports......

The members of the ITC—a bipartisan, independent panel—will next consider what specific tariffs or quotas they believe should be implemented. The deadline for the panel to send recommendations to the White House is Dec. 4. The Trump administration would then be required to decide by early next year on whether to impose import limits.

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